American pianist Katherine Benson is an important artistic voice of her generation through her “stunning” (ArtsKnoxville) performances and passion for innovation and arts leadership.

A native of Jonesborough, TN, Katherine is in demand as a soloist, chamber musician, adjudicator, and teacher, and has performed across the USA and abroad in Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada, and New Zealand. Highlights from the 2023-2024 concert seasons include Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra, Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the University of Tennessee Symphony Orchestra, Poulenc’s Concerto for Two Pianos with the Johnson City Symphony Orchestra, Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and Clara Schumann’s Concerto in A Minor with Spectrum Orchestra, as well as solo recitals in Michigan, Georgia, Tennessee, West Virginia, Washington, and North Dakota.

An avid chamber musician, Katherine is the Artistic Director and pianist for The Paramount Chamber Players (TPCP), one of the premier chamber music ensembles of the Appalachian Region and in its twentieth concert season. Since taking her role with TPCP in 2020, Katherine has organized and performed nearly three dozen concerts with the ensemble, including a professionally recorded and entirely virtual 2020–2021 concert season.

Katherine is deeply passionate about arts leadership and interdisciplinary collaboration, and her

innovative projects have been sponsored by multiple grants from the University of Tennessee and Rackham College at the University of Michigan. With her colleagues at the University of Tennessee Knoxville, Katherine co-founded the Knoxville International Piano Festival and Competition (KIPFC), hosted annually in the Spring semester at the UTK College of Music. KIPFC brings together nearly one hundred pianists each year for a weekend of concerts, masterclasses, lectures, and competitions. To learn more about KIPFC, visit https://music.utk.edu/events/piano-festival/

In another recent project, Painting Sound, Katherine explored the intersections of visual art, music, and film. She commissioned seven new works of art from graduate and undergraduate visual art students, each new artwork created directly in response to a solo piano piece and filmed in real-time. This ultimately culminated in a unique recital and gallery exhibition experience that showcases the real-time creative process of each artist in tandem with the piece of music that inspired the artwork. This project was featured in a lecture titled Painting Sound: A Case Study in Fostering Creativity and Collaboration Across the Arts presented at the 2023 National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy.

In demand as a masterclass clinician and adjudicator, Katherine places great importance on encouraging and supporting the next generation of musicians. She recently presented masterclasses at the University of Mary, Whitworth University, the Blount County Keyboard Teachers Association, the Evelyn Miller Young Artist Series, and the Knoxville International Piano Festival, working with a diversity of age groups from elementary students to collegiate artists. Katherine has also served on the jury for multiple competitions, including the Knoxville Symphony Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition, the Tennessee Music Teachers Association Piano Competitions, and the Alabama and Florida Music Teachers Association Piano Competitions.

Katherine has additionally garnered numerous triumphs in over a dozen international and national piano competitions, having won top prizes and recognitions in the Heida Hermanns, Seattle, Kerikeri, Walled City Music, Teresa Carreño, and Thousand Islands International Piano Competitions.

Katherine holds degrees from the University of Michigan, Eastman School of Music, and Northwestern University. Her teachers have included Arthur Greene, Nelita True, James Giles, and Chih-Long Hu.

At the University of Tennessee Knoxville College of Music, Katherine maintains a vibrant studio of undergraduate and graduate piano performance majors, in addition to teaching classes in piano pedagogy, piano literature, chamber music, and keyboard harmony.

Visit www.katherinebensonpiano.com for concerts, project updates, recordings, and more.